


Eyes Always Seeking

by pietrosminimoff



Category: DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Confessions, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Photography, Protective Bruce Wayne, dick is still bruce's adopted son, wally is into photography
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21498037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pietrosminimoff/pseuds/pietrosminimoff
Summary: Wally West is an amateur photography student in need of a muse. Dick Grayson is a law enforcement student in need of friends. Wally thinks he's pretty.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Wally West, Barry Allen/Iris West (mentioned), Dick Grayson/Wally West
Comments: 7
Kudos: 80





	Eyes Always Seeking

Shit. _ Shit. _ Wally was so late; he was supposed to have been in class a minute ago. Now he’d be locked out of class and he’d miss everything and he wouldn’t know the assignment and then he’d fail the class and everything would be a disaster and- Wait. The door was still open. He stopped for a second, listening, and sure enough, he could hear the telltale jingling of keys and the heavy footsteps of his teacher moving toward the door. Oh, _ hell _ , no. Wally broke into a sprint, which probably was the _ worst _ possible thing he could have done, but he didn’t care about his camera bag bouncing against his hip. After a brief second, he did notice, and he grabbed it to keep from bouncing more, but then he slid into the classroom, nearly falling _ on _ his bag but managing to regain his balance. The door closed behind him, and he could hear the lock click. _ Safe. _ The teacher noticed, too (obviously), because he turned to Wally with a questioning glare. Oops. A couple of his classmates snickered, and without a word, Wally slinked to his seat. 

Mr. Milne cleared his throat and went back to his desk, pulling up a slideshow as students around Wally chatted with each other about everything and nothing. Wally didn’t have any friends in Commercial Photography, and it certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that he had just moved to the school and it was only halfway through the first semester. He had friends in other classes! Just… not in this one. Despite the expensive equipment, most students considered it a blow-off class, and it was therefore filled with slackers. Which Wally wasn’t. 

The sudden light that was projected onto the screen jolted Wally out of his self-pity, as well as the lights flickering off. Mr. Milne cleared his throat again (was it allergy season?) and grabbed his clicker. 

“Some photographers, and some artists, for that matter, have a muse.” Click. “A muse is defined as a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist, which essentially means that a muse is a person from which someone draws their inspiration. Some examples of muses include-” Click. “Emilie Louise Flöge, who was the muse of Gustav Klimt, Edie Sedgwick for Andy Warhol, Cicciolina for Jeff Koons, and Camille Claudel for Auguste Rodin.” Click. “Your next assignment will be to find a muse. It can be your dog, your best friend, your parents, whoever, _ but _ …” He trailed off, raising his eyebrows for dramatic effect. “You also have to write an essay over why and how they inspire you. Yes, it has to be personal, but no, I will not be judging you. The criteria? Make sure I feel something when I look at your photograph _ and _ read your essay. Let me know you were inspired.” There was a loud collective groan from the class, and Wally joined in. An _ essay? _ “Now, I know it’s almost Thanksgiving break,” Mr. Milne continued, “so I’m giving you the entire break to do it. You have until the Friday after we come back to turn it in.”

Mr. Milne finished by letting them know their assignment started _ “now” _ and the entire class rose from their seats. Wally, thankfully, would not have to rent out a camera from the school since he had his own, which was a birthday gift from his uncle Barry and his aunt Iris. How much it had cost, Wally did _ not _ want to think about, though he was tempted to look it up. It was brand new when he got it, and he was determined to keep it in perfect condition. That meant he had been very careful not to drop it, even if he couldn’t say the same for his other belongings.

A muse… Who could he use as a muse? His parents certainly wouldn’t suffice; they did the _ opposite _ of inspire him. He didn’t have a dog. Roy didn’t really inspire him, unfortunately. Neither did Donna. Maybe Barry? Barry made him feel the closest thing he could think of to inspiration.

Wally didn’t even realize how long he had been in his thoughts until the first bell rang, signifying a break. Maybe he would go on a walk; those always cleared his head.

The classes were long here, longer than they had been at his old school, so the students got breaks. They could buy drinks and talk to their friends, or even work on stuff anywhere outside of the classroom. It was a pretty neat policy, especially since wandering was something Wally loved to do. He was heading downstairs, ready to buy a water bottle, when he bumped into someone.

“Hey, watch it!” The kid was maybe a sophomore or junior, so a year or two younger than Wally. He wore black sunglasses over his face, which was weird for the indoors. He didn’t sound angry when he spoke, just surprised. Wally was just as surprised; even with the sunglasses, the kid was _ stunning. _ He had a clearly young face, but his skin was flawless, and his facial structure was framed perfectly by his hair, and — Wally _ had _ to get a picture. He fumbled for his camera bag, maintaining eye contact with the kid’s sunglasses. People continued to move around them. 

“Can- Sorry, can I take your picture?” Wally managed, feeling like his heart was going to implode.

“Sorry, _ what?” _ the kid gaped. He was clearly shocked, if the dark eyebrows raising over the tops of his glasses were any indication. 

“I think you’re my muse.”


End file.
